Uniquely Suited - Melisandre

Hello again readers, sorry for the extended hiatus and thanks to those of you who dropped me notes asking when this column would return. Well, here it is: another installment of Uniquely Suited, the column where we take a look at the big players of Westeros and explore which is best for your deck. Today we’ll be taking a look at Stannis’ confidante, Melisandre. There are currently 3 versions of Melisandre that are legal in the LCG, let’s see which one is best for you.


[CRB='/forums/uploads/1281117521/med_gallery_1_4_40569.jpg']Melisandre (RotO): This version of the Red Lady is by far the flashiest and most obviously useful. The other two certainly have their places, as I’ll discuss, but if you are looking for a game-winner, she very well may be it. Her ability to gather power for you in bushels is incredible, and she is almost always a centerpiece of a Baratheon rush deck. She does not have the protection afforded to Noble characters in the form of Loyal Guard (WotN) or The Power of Blood (Core), but since the power that her text claims still goes on your house rather than on her (other than her Renown of course), she is not especially hindered by death. If your opponent is scared enough to Valar her off the board, reward him or her with a Fiery Kiss (ODG) for Mel and carry on grabbing power like a maniac- perhaps even moreso as she gains vigilant for the turn as well! Like all Melisandre personas, this one comes equipped with a Holy crest, so you can also resurrect her with Many Powers Long Asleep (RoR). Now, how to get maximum benefit from her text? Well, she allows you to claim an extra power from dominance, so The Iron Throne is an obvious choice, if a bit expensive. Her real strength, though, is gaining an extra power for unopposed challenges. There are a variety of ways to gain unopposed challenges, and the easiest two come via keywords: Either deter your opponent from defending the challenge via Deadly, or simply prevent your opponent from declaring defenders via Stealth. Deadly is not a huge Baratheon focus, but they do have Black Amethysts (MotM) that grants the keyword to an Asshai. Stealth, on the other hand, is something you’ll find plenty in Bara. Whether it’s characters such as Bastard of Robert (Core) and Dragonstone Convert (APS), or location effects such as Smuggler's Cove (KotStorm), it can become quite possible to stealth past all of your opponent’s icons of a given type.

Of course, you don’t always have to work that hard for unopposed challenges: It’s entirely possible that your opponent is simply unable to field the proper icon, or has already used it during his challenge phase. Additionally, extra challenges (especially power challenges) are a strong theme of Baratheon, so it is also possible for you to exhaust your opponent’s defenders during one challenge, and then go on another one undefended with cards such as An Empty Throne (KotS), Citadel Custom (CbtC), or Robert Baratheon (KotStorm). This Melisandre is the clear choice for Baratheon rush archetypes to play, as they want as much power as quickly as possible, and with all of the tricks that they have, she can be the piece that puts such a deck over the top to 15 power within the first couple turns of the game.


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[CRB='/forums/uploads/1285025507/med_gallery_1_64_368486.jpg']Melisandre (RoR): If one were to assign a ‘theme’ to the personas of Melisandre, it would obviously be the fact that she messes with power in one way or another, and in the case of this and the next version of Mel, specifically power on your opponent’s characters. She shares Renown, the Holy crest, stats and icons with the other two personas, so let’s take a look at her text. Essentially, she allows you a means of character control via intrigue challenges. It can slowly keep an opponent away from his win condition, but more interestingly it can completely eliminate characters who have only one power on them. This probably won’t do a whole lot of good against other Baratheon decks, as Baratheon renown characters tend to gather their power in bunches, but for many of the other houses it can be a real thorn in the side. Since Renown is not an optional keyword, the presence of this Melisandre on the board will cause them to think twice about including Renown characters in challenges unless they are confident that they can fend off an intrigue challenge in return.

Aside from Renown, the most obvious way for power to find its way onto characters is through the Lannister house keyword, Infamy. Infamy IS optional, and intrigue is a strength of Lannister as well so her ability will be more difficult to pull off, but if they have a good reason for putting power on their characters instead of their house (such as
House Clegane Outlaw (APS)), she can quickly shuffle them off the mortal coil. Ironically, the neatest trick I’ve seen with this Melisandre actually came from the house of the Lion as well: Using her in a Lannister/Baratheon alliance deck, and then using You've Killed the Wrong Dwarf! (Core) as effectively a sniper card. Melisandre would head out on a seemingly innocent intrigue challenge, and then when the opponent showed that he was not going to defend it, You Killed the Wrong Dwarf would suddenly add a power to their best character, which she would then happily take back while sending that character to the dead pile. A similar and possibly simpler effect can be had by using the new Baratheon army, The Red Queen's Faithful (CD), as well. Note that the Faithful state that you can move UP TO 3 power, and it is in the same response window as Melisandre’s trigger, so if you win an intrigue with both, you can put one power on a character and then steal it with Melisandre to kill that character.


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[CRB='/forums/uploads/1281901163/med_gallery_11_121471.jpg']Melisandre (Core): This Melisandre is one that reminds me quite a bit of Stannis Baratheon (KotStorm): not good for all decks, but in the right deck- or against the right deck- she can be completely devastating. Her strength bonus to Asshai characters makes her a very attractive option for Asshai- centric decks, especially since their characters will not have to kneel to attack on the two turns with The Power of Faith (KotStorm) revealed. This can also allow you to more easily trigger some popular “Win by x or more” cards such as Terminal Schemes (LotR) or Superior Claim (KotStorm).

Her real power, though- no pun intended- is in her second line of game text. The ability to prevent power on an opponents’ characters from being counted toward his or her victory is simply game-changing. Renown is probably the most popular, and many would argue the best, of the non-house keywords, and this Melisandre effectively neuters decks that rely on it unless those decks have some way of removing her from the table, or blanking her text. A Baratheon opponent going too fast for you? Conclaves got you down? She is the answer. She will stop them in their tracks, either buying you time to counterpunch, or in many cases simply saving the game for you in a tight race. As such, it is important to ensure that she is properly protected- after all, an opponent who she is affecting has little to lose by dropping a reset, if it means getting her off the table. Luckily, she is a Lady, so she can have a Bodyguard (Core), as well as the obvious means of duplicating her. Like all Mels, she can also return via Many Powers Long Asleep if you still need some more time to put the game away. Her text is fairly self-explanatory but it can create a massive swing in a game, sometimes leading directly to victory.


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Hopefully you’ve found the perfect Melisandre for your particular Baratheon deck, whether she is assassinating your opponent’s characters, or just claiming enough extra power to squeeze out the win. Tune in next time for a look at the last of the three Baratheon kings!